Dwight Fletcher | Cover yuh head

THE ROMAN soldiers had helmets that were made of thick leather covered with metal plates or of moulded metal, and is to protect the head from injury. Satan attacks us on many levels, but his mental attacks on the validity of our faith by false teaching can be crippling.

The helmet of salvation is an expectation that God has our back. We need to be confident that God is truthful, so whatever comes our way, “We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28 (CEB). People worry because they’re insecure about the future. We need to settle the issue of our relationship with God by answering the question, ‘Do you know for certain that if you die today, you will go to Heaven?’ We need to accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and be walking in Him.

We also need to know why we believe what we believe. Satan’s goal is to cause us to lose heart, because we aren’t certain of what we believe. We’re in a battle for our minds. Focusing our minds on the Lord is how we counteract the bombardment of Satan, “…whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things” Philippians 4:8 (NIV).

Many prisoners of war who survived the horrors of captivity, said they did so because they developed a mental shield of truth to combat the enemies’ lies. They blocked the lies of the enemy with their mental ‘helmet of truth’. The physical battle had ceased, but they never stopped fighting the mental and spiritual battle. We must do the same in our spiritual battle with Satan.

The Roman soldier’s sword was 18 inches long and dual-edged; designed for close-quartered, hand-to-hand combat. Our sword is the Word of God. For every situation we face the Bible has a solution. In our warfare, it’s the Word of God that gives us the victory. Thomas Guthrie said, “The Bible is an armoury of heavenly weapons, a laboratory of infallible medicines, a mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady and a balm for every wound. Rob us of our Bible and our sky has lost its sun.”

“The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV). We activate the power of the Word by applying it to our situation. When the enemy tempted Jesus, He used the Word as both a defensive and an offensive weapon. We’re to do the same. On the battlefield, it’s the Word that is our flexible weapon.

The word for double-edged sword is distomos, which means ‘two-mouthed’. This is important because when God spoke His Word, that was the first mouth; and when we speak it into our situation, we activate its power over what we are experiencing. “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” Matthew 18:19 (NIV). Just by agreeing, the power is released for the thing to be established. God means what He says. What He says goes. Nothing, and no one, is impervious to God’s Word. Ensure the helmet is in place and the sword is ready in hand.